


All You Need is Love and a Cup of Tea

by therestisjustconfetti



Category: The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fluff, I couldn't help myself, True Love, i just love them so much, yes this all about tea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:01:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27070888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/therestisjustconfetti/pseuds/therestisjustconfetti
Summary: Two times that Dani made a bad cup of tea for Jamie, and the first time she made the perfect one.
Relationships: Dani Clayton/Jamie
Comments: 11
Kudos: 432





	All You Need is Love and a Cup of Tea

**Author's Note:**

> Back again with some more sweet moments for these two and I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> Thank you to everyone for all the lovely comments on my other Dani/Jamie fics!

Why was it so hard to make a damn cup of tea? Everyone drank it. It was served in every cafe and brewed in nearly every household. And yet, Dani just couldn't get it right no matter many times she tried. Too much sugar. Not enough milk. Tea leaves floating in the water. Always wrong. But she kept trying, determined to impress not only Jamie, but herself. 

It was early in the morning and Dani awoke before her and Jamie's alarm went off. She slowly and gently slid out from Jamie's warm arm, which was cradled around her waist, holding her close. It was always hard to leave when the person she loved more than anything in the world was cuddled up right beside her. Waking up in bed with Jamie each morning was pure bliss and most days, it took everything in Dani to not pull Jamie tighter and keep her in the bed all day long. 

Dani softly got up off the bed, careful not to wake Jamie. She leaned down and brushed some curly locks out of her eyes and placed a kiss on her temple, inhaling her scent as she did. She walked out of their bedroom - oh how she loved how that sounded - their bedroom. Their bedroom in their apartment. The place they've made a home. The place where they fell in love with each other more and more every day, if falling more in love with each other was even possible when there was so much love already. 

Dani walked into the kitchen and opened one of the cupboards. She quietly took out two cups and set them down on the counter, closing the cupboard behind her. She picked the kettle up off the stove and moved to the sink to fill it with water. She turned on the stove and placed the kettle down on the burner. She reached for a tin of tea bags sitting on the counter, ones that Jamie insisted they got shipped over from England despite the cost. 

"I already know how hard it is for you yanks to make a good brew, can't count on ya to sell a good tea bag in the shops now can I?" Jamie had said when Dani tried to argue the costs with her. So Jamie got her way and Dani reached into the tin and grabbed two of the bags then dropped one in each of their cups. 

The kettle started to boil a few minutes later and Dani rushed to the stove to take it off the burner before its loud screeching woke Jamie in the bedroom. She turned the burner off and filled both of the cups up with hot water and then she waited. She stared at the cups intently as the tea steeped, willing them to brew and be good. A few moments later she started to walk around the apartment and when she heard a dog bark - she moved to the window. She looked out and down onto the street and watched as a couple walked hand in hand down the sidewalk with a big dog on a leash. The dog stopped to roll around in a pile of leaves and Dani smiled. Little things like that seemed to bring her a lot of joy. The early morning world outside distracted her completely somehow and the steeping tea had been forgotten until she glanced back over and saw the cups.

"Shit," she muttered and quickly went to remove the tea bags. She got the milk out of the fridge and poured a little into each cup, followed by a spoonful of sugar. She stirred the contents in each cup and picked one of them up, bringing it to her lips for a taste. 

"Not so bad," she said to herself. She picked up the other mug and walked back into their bedroom. Jamie was awake and sitting up now with her back against the headboard. Early morning sunshine streamed into the room and cast a glow around her. 

"I wondered where you had disappeared to, Poppins," she said with a smile when she noticed Dani standing in the doorway. "One of them for me?"

Dani nodded and walked over to the bed and handed Jamie a cup. The brunette accepted it and glanced down into it, noticing the teabag still floating. Dani eagerly watched and waited for her to take a sip. 

"Dani, I love you, and I love how hard you try. But...you've got to take the teabag out, love." 

Dani looked into her own cup and realized her mistake - in her haste to put the right amount of milk and sugar into each cup, she had forgotten to take out the bags. 

Upon seeing the disappointed look on Dani's face, Jamie brought the cup to her lips and had a sip, hoping she might be pleasantly surprised. She swallowed and grimaced a little bit. 

"That bad?" Dani sadly asked.

"I think you might have let it steep a bit too long, Poppins."

Dani held out her hand and motioned for Jamie to hand her back the cup. "I'm sorry. I sort of got distracted by looking out the window. I'll take it back to the kitchen."

"Put those cups down and get back into this bed," Jamie said. She pulled the covers back and held open her arms. 

Seconds later, Jamie had grabbed Dani by the wrists and pulled her back into the bed, making Dani laugh. The sweet sound filled the room. 

"Forget about the tea. I'd rather have you first thing in the morning," Jamie said and covered her face in kisses. 

~~~~~~

Tragedy had struck. They had somehow run out of their special English tea and Jamie couldn't get any more for another two weeks. Dani knew she had ultimately wasted many of those bags with her failed attempts at making tea but Jamie would never say that out loud. 

This is how Dani found herself in the grocery store standing in front of boxes of various types of tea. She had absolutely no clue what she was looking for but knew there had to be something that resembled Jamie's treasured English brew at least a little bit. Her eyes scanned the shelves, hoping to land on a brand that looked a bit British. On the top shelf, she noticed a box with the slogan "Britains Favourite Tea" scrawled across it in colours that matched the Union Jack. 

"Well that looks pretty damn English," she said to herself. She grabbed the box off the shelf and confidently strode towards the checkout line. 

Two hours later Jamie walked into their apartment to find Dani standing by the kitchen island with a proud smile on her face. 

"I've got something for you," Dani said. 

Jamie dropped her keys and her bag on the entry table and eyed Dani curiously. She made her way to Dani and slid her arms around her waist, pulling her as close as she could.

"Is it a kiss? How'd you know that's exactly what I wanted," Jamie said and pushed aside Dani's hair and pressed her lips to her neck just below her ear. Jamie kissed her way to Dani's lips and the blonde almost got lost in the sensation for a moment before remembering what sat on the counter behind her. She didn't get a chance to say anything because as Jamie went to move her kisses back to her neck, she noticed the box of tea and the steaming cup on her own. 

"What's this now?" Jamie asked.

"Well...I thought since you finished your tea and can't get some for a while, I'd go and see if I could track down some tea that was just as good," Dani answered. "Now I know you said a grocery store couldn't sell good tea and there was a lot to choose from, but this one seemed British. And you're British. So you'd probably like it at least a little bit."

Jamie knew it would be shit. Dani was right, she had said many times that American tea was shit, even if it claimed to be "Britain's Favourite". Companies would slap anything on a box to try to get someone to buy it. But seeing Dani standing in front of her, wide-eyed and excited, wanting so badly to do something right for her...how could she not try it?

"You thought that, hmm? Well, alright. Let's give it a go then."

Dani picked up the cup and Jamie took it from her hands. She looked at the box again and narrowed her eyes, staring at the slogan on the box, the brand name completely unfamiliar to her. She brought the cup to her mouth and drank some of the tea. She was right. It was shit. And definitely not Britain's Favourite. She put the cup back down on the counter. 

"Thank you," Jamie said and reached out for Dani's hand. She entwined their fingers and ran her thumb across Dani's soft skin. 

Dani was a little confused and she scrunched her nose up. "Did you like it? Was it good? Did it taste like it was English?"

"Oh Poppins, come here," Jamie said and slid her arms around Dani's wast again. She looked into Dani's eyes and smiled. "Thank you for trying. I'm so lucky to have someone in my life who tries so hard to make me a good cup of tea. I'm a very lucky woman."

Dani dropped her head onto Jamie's shoulder. "But the box said it was Britains Favourite," she mumbled. 

"You know what is Britains Favourite? You. And I'm Britain," Jamie replied. It was a terribly cheesy line but Dani laughed against her skin and it was exactly what Jamie wanted because the sound of Dani's laughter was one of the most beautiful sounds in the world and far better than any cup of tea could ever be. 

Dani wrapped her arms around Jamie and they stood together in a deep embrace, completely at peace and so very in love. 

~~~~~~

This was it. She had a feeling in her gut that this would be the best cup of tea she ever made. She and Jamie had spent a perfect day together in the park on a blanket in the sun. It was early autumn and the crisp breeze and low afternoon sun made for a very comfortable time outside, and comfortable is exactly what they were. Jamie had recently purchased a new camera so she could take photos of them together, wanting to have some more in frames for their bedroom. Dani had tried to cover her face, knowing she never liked photos of herself but Jamie did everything in her power to take pictures of Dani. She tried her best to get her to pose and smile. At one point Dani got up off the blanket and tried to run away but Jamie was too quick and pulled her back down. 

"Nice try, Poppins," she had said as she pinned her down. "You know I'm stronger than ya." 

They were so happy and Dani decided that once they made it back to their apartment, the best way to end such a good day would be to FINALLY make Jamie the perfect cup of tea. Sure, she could make herself tea, and 9 times out of 10, she would. The other time would be Dani's sad attempt. It would always result in a warm embrace, soft lips against her skin, and thank you's whispered into her ear which wasn't so bad, but still. 

They had been able to get some more of Jamie's English tea sent over and while she was in the shower, Dani went about preparing it. She had a fiery determination and was going to go carefully step by step. She dropped one of the tea bags into a cup, put a filled kettle on the stove to boil, and placed the milk on the counter. The kettle announced that the water was boiled and Dani poured it into the cup. 

Four minutes. That's how long she would let the bag sit in the water and she watched the clock that hung on their kitchen wall as each second ticked away. When four minutes were up, she spooned out the tea bag and dropped it in the trash. Not wanting to risk too much milk spilling from the carton and into the cup, she poured some of the milk onto a teaspoon over the sink and then poured that milk into the cup. She did the same thing one more time and as it turned out, Jamie didn't like sugar in her tea. Something she had failed to mention every time Dani brought her a cup. How had she never noticed the fact that brunette didn't put sugar in her own tea? She also couldn't believe that she never asked if she took sugar in her tea, it was just an assumption she had about tea in general. Of course Dani's tea would be bad when it had heaps of sugar in it each time. 

Dani swirled the spoon around in the cup and watched the warm caramel coloured liquid spin and then put the spoon down. She picked up the cup and held it in front of her face like a work of art. Dani heard Jamie shut the water off in the washroom and glanced down the hall just as Jamie walked out of the room and into their bedroom. 

When Dani walked into the bedroom, Jamie was standing in just a towel, her wet hair falling loosely around her face and clinging to her bare shoulders. It was a sight that Dani was oh so familiar with but one that never failed to leave warmth in the pit of her stomach and she couldn't stop her wandering eyes. Her attraction to Jamie had only grown stronger over time and often times it led to forgotten meals and unfinished tasks, proving to be more important. 

"Have a nice shower?" she asked. 

Jamie looked over her shoulder and nodded with a smile. "Mmhmm, very nice. Shame you didn't join me this time."

"I had important work to take care of."

Jamie looked to the cup in her hands. "Let me guess - you made me a brew," she said and spun around so she was facing Dani who nodded eagerly. 

"Please just try it. I know you might not expect much but I think this time I did it." 

Jamie licked her lips and took a deep breath. "Alright, alright." She took the cup and blew on it, purposely dragging out the scene so she could watch Dani squirm in anticipation. 

"Jamie! Try it!" Dani demanded.

Jamie cocked an eyebrow and laughed a little at Dani's impatience. "Someone's very eager tonight." 

Finally, Jamie took a sip. She was expecting the need to fake a smile and thank Dani for the gesture but instead she was genuinely surprised. It was good. It was really good.

"Blimey," she said.

Dani did a little excited dance and hopped up and down like a child. "I knew it! I knew it was going to be good this time!"

"Has someone been practicing their tea-making skills?" Jamie asked. She drank some more and felt the calming sensation that a good cup of tea could provide. "Because this is your best work yet and I mean it."

Dani stopped her dance and looked at Jamie with a serious expression. "Wait," she said, "you're not just saying that so you don't hurt my feelings, right? Do you actually think it's good? Because if it's not, I can take it. I can take it and live with the fact that I just can't make a good cup of tea and probably won't ever be able to."

Jamie set the cup down on a bedside table and placed her hands on Dani's shoulders. "It's good. I'm not lyin' to ya. I really do mean it."

The smile returned to Dani's face and she hugged Jamie. "Yay! I made good tea!"

It was such a simple and small thing to be so thrilled about but she was ecstatic. And when she remembered that Jamie was so close to her wearing just a towel, she had some other thoughts pop into her head. She slid her hand down to just under Jamie's arm and pulled out the tucked in part of the towel that held it up, letting it slip to the floor. Jamie leaned back to look at Dani.

"Wha...what about the tea?" she asked.

Dani shrugged and smirked. "Well I know how to make it now, right? Which means I can make it again. Later. When we're all finished here."

They moved back towards the bed together, with Jamie letting Dani take the lead. 

"Poppins, you flirt."


End file.
